Avocado Banana Pudding

I happened upon the concept of Avocado Pudding in a Farmers’ Market Desserts cookbook that I picked up in Iowa. It’s a beautiful book that I’ve been pouring over, and the first recipe that I tried from it was the one that attracted me in the first place: “Avocado Velvet.” Sounded weird and that’s why I had to try it.

The recent discovery that when blended into a smoothie, an avocado lends a lusciously silken texture, led me to expect the same from pudding, and that proved to be the case. I’ve retrofitted the original recipe quite a bit for purposes of sticking to my 100 Ingredients List, tossing in a banana for good measure, and avoiding a cup of half and half (yikes!)

This is so ridiculously easy to make that I made two variations within a 12-hour span for purposes of playing with the proportions and testing out the addition of blueberries vs. strawberries.

Both were beautiful and quite tasty and led me to all sorts of thoughts about future variations Avocado Pudding and recipes that incorporate avocado pudding — like an avocado pudding parfait.

Ingredients

2 large ripe, but firm, avocados

1 ripe, but firm, banana

6 Tbsp. raw sugar

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup almond milk (or regular milk)

1 tsp. pure vanilla

pinch of kosher salt

1 cup blueberries, or cut-up strawberries or bananas (optional)

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a food processor, reserving a few tsp. of lemon for the top. Blend very thoroughly until avocado is completely smooth. Fold in berries if desired. Add to an airtight container, sprinkle a few tsp of lemon juice on top, and chill for at least two hours.